Undergraduates recognized for standout work in engineering and the humanities

Each year, the Hajim School awards well-rounded students with the Robert L. Wells Prize. Meet the Class of 2024 recipients.

The Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences is recognizing three undergraduate students with the Robert L. Wells Prize, 每年颁发给在人文学科领域表现优异的高年级学生, as determined by the highest GPAs at the end of their junior year.

This year’s Wells Prize winners are:

• Adam Cummings, a mechanical engineering major who is minoring in French and American Sign Language
• Qiyuan “Yvonna” Feng, a double major in computer science and brain and cognitive sciences who is minoring in digital media studies and psychology
• Riley Prewett, a chemical engineering major and Spanish minor

The award is named after Robert L. Wells ’39, 他毕业于机械工程专业，后来成为西屋电气(Westinghouse)的高管，并强烈认为工程师“需要人文学科的平衡”才能胜任自己的领域.

French and ASL minors help Cummings expand his cultural connections

Adam Cummings has always been a tinkerer and, as a result, experimented with his major before finding his niche. After initially majoring in electrical and computer engineering, he sought a more “hands-on” field and switched to mechanical engineering.

“I’ve always loved deconstructing things and figuring out how they work, and I was heavily involved with FIRST Robotics in high school,” says Cummings. “So mechanical engineering seemed like a natural progression.”

During his sophomore year, 他的课程表上有一个空档，他觉得美国手语(ASL)课可能会很有趣. 在那年夏天遇到一位聋人同事之前，他并没有进一步澳门威尼斯人网上赌场的计划.

“我们成为了非常亲密的朋友，我意识到到处都是聋人. By not learning their language and culture, you can miss out on a lot of great opportunities for connection,” says Cummings.

卡明斯说，他喜欢辅修课上的高级课程——美国手语和法语——关注文化, 这帮助他反思了许多人认为理所当然的美国和听力文化的各个方面. Outside the classroom, he stays busy as a member of the ASL Club, serving as the business manager for the men’s Ultimate Frisbee club team, and occasionally jamming in unofficial music groups.

After graduation, 他希望先在法国教一年英语，或者在阿巴拉契亚山脉待上一段时间，然后再找一份工业工作.

Applying design skills allows Feng to keep her mind balanced

冯启燕(Qiyan“Yvonna”Feng)刚进入澳门威尼斯人网上赌场时，是一名大脑与认知科学(BCS)专业的学生，她对人类大脑如何与周围世界互动感到好奇. During her first year, 在人工智能和生物信息学公司galxir的实习经历让她看到，计算机科学可以成为进一步探索人类思维的有力工具.

他说:“我决定在计算机科学上修双学位，以真正突破自己的极限。. “As it turns out, 计算机科学和BCS的结合使我能够在更理论化的领域解决认知科学的澳门威尼斯人网上赌场问题.”

To help provide balance, Feng got involved with the Chinese Students’ Association and served as chair of the design committee, 她说，这段经历帮助她提高了设计技能，并与其他有着共同文化背景的学生建立了联系. 她的数字媒体澳门威尼斯人网上赌场和心理学双辅修课程进一步完善了她在澳门威尼斯人网上赌场的课程和课外生活.

“数字媒体学习让我以一种灵活的方式探索我对设计和艺术的热爱，”冯说. “它给了我技术技能，同时让我深入到数字艺术和文化的许多方面. Psychology, on the other hand, 补充了我的BCS专业，让我在社会层面上对世界有了更全面的了解.”

毕业后，冯希望继续攻读认知科学或神经科学的澳门威尼斯人网上赌场生. 她的目标是成为一名澳门威尼斯人网上赌场视觉感知及其与高级认知之间关系的澳门威尼斯人网上赌场人员.

Prewett将工程技术与服务和国际经验相辅相成

高中时，莱利·普威特(Riley Prewett)最初不确定自己想从事什么领域的澳门威尼斯人网上赌场. 他喜欢化学和数学，所以化学工程似乎是两全其美的. He quickly found he chose the right major.

“My first semester here, 我把《澳门威尼斯人网上赌场》作为ChemE的必修课，这确实激发了我对可再生能源的兴趣,” says Prewett. “Over this past summer, 我曾在洛雷罗工程公司实习，为各种制造设施进行能源审计，并根据现场收集的数据和能源效率计算构建模型. Now, looking at my future, I am exploring jobs in renewables.”

But from the start, Prewett也知道他个人需要用人文学科来补充他的STEM专业. 他从七年级开始学习西班牙语，对于在大学继续学习罗马语感到“欣喜若狂”.

“我在西班牙语系遇到了一些很棒的教授，提高了我的技能, especially in writing,” says Prewett. “Last semester, as the last class to finish my minor, I took ‘Buñuel, Dalí, Lorca: Surrealism in Spain and Beyond’ with Professor [Claudia] Schaefer and it is 100 percent one of my favorite classes I have taken at U of R so far.”
一旦疫情限制放松，普威特甚至把自己延伸到教室之外. During his sophomore year, he started volunteering with the STEM Initiative, 这是一个社区服务组织，致力于让当地澳门威尼斯人网上赌场小学的学生接触不同的STEM领域, and now serves as vice president. Also during his sophomore year, he became chair of the Boar’s Head Dinner, a campus tradition that dates back to 1934.
Last fall, he went on an exchange program to the University of Melbourne in Australia, 他说，这段经历让他认识了很多了不起的人，创造了美好的回忆. Now, he serves as an ambassador for the Center for Education Abroad 以帮助其他工程专业的学生体验类似的观点转变的机会.

Upon graduation, 他希望整个夏天去欧洲旅行，然后在秋天开始他的职业生涯.

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